Humanities Montana - Community Project Grants

Overview

_NOTE: We strongly suggest you consult with Humanities Montana staff before applying for any grant ._

Humanities Montana

Our Mission

Humanities Montana serves communities through stories and conversation. We offer experiences that nurture imagination and ideas by speaking to Montanans’ diverse history, literature, and philosophy.

Land Acknowledgement

Humanities Montana acknowledges that we are in the homelands of Indigenous people. We offer our respect for their history and culture, and for the path they have always shown us in caring for this place for generations to come.

Our Vision

To achieve our goal, Humanities Montana —

* provides programs that tell our diverse stories

* facilitates conversations about the most pressing issues
* supports Montana’s cultural institutions through grants and partnerships
* offers humanities such as history, literature, and philosophy to nurture memory, imagination, and ideas

Community Project Grants

Humanities Montana’s Community Project Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and public institutions across Montana to support public humanities programs that engage Montanans in meaningful discussion about the human condition, strengthen cooperative relationships among communities and cultural organizations (museums, libraries, schools, tribal organizations, etc.) and enrich civic discourse among the state’s diverse cultures and across its geographical distances.

These grants are designed to support a vast array of bold and innovative projects that are meaningful to local communities and inspire timely community conversations, from film screenings and panel discussions to cultural festivals and youth literacy programs — and much more.

Eligibility

_We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's [website]().
_

Application Details

COMMUNITY PROJECT GRANT
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Grant Website:
https://www.humanitiesmontana.org/community-project-grants/
This document contains guidelines for submitting a grant application to Humanities
Montana. Please apply for all Humanities Montana grants using our online grant application
forms. NOTE: All grants are awarded subject to the availability of funds.
Grant Type Maximum Award Required Match Application
Community Project $2,000 - $10,000 1:1 Deadlines
Dec 1, Apr 1, Aug 1

Table of Contents
Community Project Grant Overview ...................................................................................... 2
Program Summary ............................................................................................................... 2
Eligibility ................................................................................................................................. 6
Substantive Involvement ..................................................................................................... 7
Cost Sharing / Required Matching Funds .......................................................................... 7
Application Requirements & Instructions ........................................................................... 8
General Budget Guidelines ................................................................................................15
Deadlines .............................................................................................................................17
Application Review & Selection ............................................................................................18
Review Process ....................................................................................................................18
Selection Process ................................................................................................................18
Assessment of Risk and Other Pre-Award Activities ..........................................................18
Award Announcements .....................................................................................................19
Award Management ..........................................................................................................19
Humanities Montana Contact Information ..........................................................................19
Application Resources
Online Eligibility Survey
Informational Webinars
FAQs
Humanities Montana Grantmaking Overview
Forms & Links
Budget Instructions
Award Management Guide
Humanities Montana Logos & Brand Guidelines
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Community Project Grant Overview
Program Summary
Community Project Grants are awarded to eligible nonprofit organizations and public
institutions across Montana in support of programs and projects that strengthen
community through storytelling, conversations, learning, and reflection on our shared
human experience. These grants are designed to support a vast array of bold and
innovative projects that gather multiple perspectives and worldviews in thoughtful
consideration of humanities ideas and content.
Supported projects are those that advance the humanities in Montana by increasing
public access to humanities programming through which residents of our state can
learn about our rich and diverse past, present, and future. We encourage projects that
promote a deeper understanding of Montana's history and culture as well as those that
examine themes and subjects in the humanities relevant and important to Montana
communities. We also seek to elevate the voices of those whose stories have not been
told, raise awareness of critical conversations surrounding the current issues of our time,
and encourage civic engagement of our citizens and residents.
Projects must be grounded in humanities scholarship and incorporate an approach
that is thoughtful, balanced, and analytical; proposals must demonstrate the potential
to attract a broad general audience. The best humanities projects engage critical
reflection of human society and culture, and most importantly, what makes us human.
We look for projects that present rich, meaningful, and well-vetted humanities content
to public audiences in Montana.
Supported projects may be stand-alone or part of a larger organizational initiative.
Timelines
Winter
• November 15: Consultation deadline (some exceptions may apply)
• December 1: Application deadline for projects starting March 1 or later
• March 15: Decisions announced
Spring
• March 15: Consultation deadline (some exceptions may apply)
• April 1: Application deadline for projects starting July 1 or later
• July 15: Decisions announced (date is subject to change)
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Summer
• July 15: Consultation deadline (some exceptions may apply)
• August 1: Application deadline for projects starting March 1 or later
• October 15: Decisions announced
Community Projects must
• Focus on a clearly defined humanities theme(s) and appeal to a broad
Montana audience
• Build on sound humanities scholarship
• Include a 1:1 cost-share of in-kind (donated goods and services) or other cash
income from other sources
• Deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions
• Approach a subject analytically, presenting a variety of perspectives
• Involve humanities scholars (academic, professional, or subject-expert) in all
aspects of the project; all projects require at least one confirmed subject expert
• Employ appealing and accessible formats that will actively engage the general
public in learning
• Include public programming such as discussions, lectures, or presentations
• Collaborate with local community organizations to deliver public programming
• Demonstrate support and involvement of communities and cultures represented
in project content and activities or specifically address why they are not involved
(e.g., projects that involve Native American communities or cultures must include
letters of support from participating scholars, researchers, and/or program
participants from that specific community outlining their involvement)
• Include sufficient outreach/publicity and evaluation plans where appropriate
Community Projects cannot
• Present a one-sided, uncritical treatment of an issue
• Focus on personal instead of public concerns
• Promote a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view
• Involve political advocacy
• Advocate for a particular program of social or political action
• Support of specific public policies or legislation
• Support lobbying
• Support candidates running for political office
• Involve obscene, libelous, indecent, or defamatory content (including hate
speech personal attacks, or material constituting harassment)
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• Involve non-public meetings of organizations (although Humanities Montana will
consider funding programs open to the public but held in conjunction with a
group's meeting)
• Support events and programs that would raise funds for general operations,
profit-making groups, or commercial purposes
• Museum or library acquisitions, except in unusual circumstances
• Creation and performance of arts programs
• Fall outside of the humanities; the creation or performance of art; creative
writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction; policy studies; and
social science research that does not address humanistic questions and/or utilize
humanistic methods
Community Project grant funds may NOT be used toward
• Operating expenses of existing organizations for renovation, restoration,
rehabilitation, or construction (including building materials and construction of
exhibits)
• Equipment, property, or other capital purchases (unless approved as a direct
cost by Humanities Montana)
• Meals or refreshments for an audience
• Alcoholic beverages or entertainment costs
• Fiscal agent and fiscal sponsor fees
• Costs for activities performed by federal entities or personnel
• Preservation or cataloging of materials and collections
• More than 10% of the total award amount for executive director/CEO salary
expenses
• Indirect project expenses exceeding 10% of the total award amount unless your
organization has a federally negotiated indirect cost rate (NICRA). If your
organization has a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, Humanities Montana
must use the negotiated indirect cost rate for the purposes of this award. You will
need to upload a copy of your NICRA agreement with your application if this
applies to your organization.
• Outreach and engagement events and other distribution activities completed
before the approved project start date or after the project end date (period of
performance/grant term) included in formal subaward partnership agreements
Criteria for selection
Applications for Community Project grants will be judged on the following:
• The applicant organization’s eligibility to receive an award from Humanities
Montana and completeness of the application.
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• The likely contribution of the project to public understanding of the significance
of the topic and the humanities ideas the project engages with; the quality of
the scholarship and analytical perspectives informing the project.
• The responsiveness to a clearly defined and evidence-based need such as a
gap in knowledge, skills, and understanding of specific humanities ideas; the
value and benefit to Montana citizens and communities; adequate knowledge
of, established rapport, and representation of cultures and communities
represented in the project; the estimated size of the audience, the potential for
broad public appeal; the quality of the distribution plan; the engagement of
collaborative partnerships.
• The quality of the project work plan and its articulation of specific, measurable,
and realistic goals, activities, outreach, and evaluation efforts within an
achievable time frame.
• The feasibility of the project work plan; the likelihood that the applicant will
achieve the project’s goals; and the appropriateness of the project’s costs.
• The qualifications and potential contributions of the advising scholars, key
organizational staff, and any additional experts.
Other considerations include
• In accepting an award, the applicant organization/subrecipient agrees to use
grant funds in accordance with the Humanities Montana grant award letter and
subaward partnership agreement.
• Project and budget modifications must be approved and documented by
Humanities Montana at least 30 days before the grant term ends.
• Records of project expenditures must be maintained by fellowship awardees.
• All materials publicizing or resulting from grant activities must contain the
appropriate acknowledgement of Humanities Montana support.
Rights to materials (scripts, films, television and radio programs, viewer and listener
guides) will ordinarily remain with the grantee. However, if Humanities Montana has
provided over 25% of the total funding for such materials, plans for future use or
distribution must be discussed with Humanities Montana for approval prior to
implementation. In addition, the grantee must assure Humanities Montana that
utilization of material funded under a grant will be sought on the basis of maximum
possible right for non-commercial use or distribution.
Humanities Montana respects Tribal data sovereignty and recognizes the importance of
Indigenous Knowledge by acknowledging tribes’ inherent right to govern the
collection, ownership, and application of data and resources. We will work closely with
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applicants from Tribal organizations and communities to ensure award management
policies respect and align with Tribes’ needs.
Incomplete, nonresponsive, or ineligible applications will not be considered for funding.
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered for funding.
Applicants with outstanding final reports from a previous award or program from
Humanities Montana are ineligible, and their proposals will not be considered for
funding.
Eligibility
Eligible applicant organizations must be established in the United States or its
jurisdictions as one of the following:
• Private nonprofit organizations
• Accredited institutions of higher education
• State, local, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments and agencies
(schools, libraries, museums, etc.)
• Groups of persons that form an association to carry out a project for approved
nonprofit purposes
• Individuals (research fellowships ONLY)
Other considerations:
• Non-public/membership organizations or groups that apply to the councils for
funding must be constituted for nonprofit purposes.
• Individuals (with the exception of research fellows) and other organizations,
including foreign and for-profit entities, are ineligible.
• Applicant organizations must not function solely as fiscal agents or fiscal sponsors
but must make substantive contributions to the success of the project (see
Substantive Involvement section below).
A Unique Entity ID (UEI) and Federal Tax ID (EIN) or proof of tax-exempt or nonprofit
status are required to apply. Per 2 CFR § 25.300, Humanities Montana may issue
subawards with federal funds only to organizations that have obtained and provided
their Unique Entity Identifier. Subrecipients are required to complete registration with the
System for Award Management (SAM) to obtain a Unique Entity Identifier.
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Substantive Involvement
Humanities Montana only awards grants to organizations, not to individuals or
companies instituted for for-profit purposes (e.g., LLCs). Applicants working with fiscal
sponsors must consult with Humanities Montana staff to assess substantive involvement
and determine eligibility before submitting an application.
Organizations engaging solely in fiscal sponsorship activities (e.g., proposal submissions,
reporting, fulfillment of contractual obligations, maintaining IRS status) may not apply
on behalf of ineligible applicants. However, an applicant organization that makes
substantive contributions to the success of the project, may be eligible. Only applicant
organizations meeting some or all of the requirements of substantive involvement listed
below are eligible to apply.
Eligible applicant organizations make some or all of the following substantive
contributions:
• Monitoring the progress of a project
• Contributing to the work plan, research plan, budget, outreach plan, fundraising
plan, and/or distribution plan
• Contributing to choices of personnel who work on a project, including project
scholars and staff
• Consulting with other project personnel regarding humanities themes and
intellectual approaches to the content
• Providing direction, advice, and/or mentorship to project leadership
• Providing input on grant product(s) prior to completion
• Participating in engagement, direction, and/or supervision of independent
contracted professionals
• Contributing to the development of ancillary resources to support the project
• Contributing to outreach and public engagement
If awarded, the applicant organization will be required to submit a signed agreement
outlining their substantive involvement and contributions to the project.
Learn more about managing subawards and subrecipient responsibilities.
Cost Sharing / Required Matching Funds
Cost sharing or matching refers to the portion of the project costs you pay for with non-
Humanities Montana funds or the value of in-kind contributions from non-federal
sources. Humanities Montana requires a 1:1 cost share match for all Community Project
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grants applications and final reports. For every dollar you request or receive from
Humanities Montana, you must provide at least one dollar of cost-share from other cash
income, in-kind contributions, or a mixture of both. Cost-share funds must be applied to
allowable expenses and you may not include funds from other federal sources in your
estimated cost-share.
If you will charge a fee for admittance to your program, you must report all income as
cash income on your budget form, and this income must be spent on project-related
expenses. Event registration and attendance may not be cost-prohibitive or limit the
program’s accessibility to the general public.
You may contribute voluntary cost share to your project if the total costs exceed the
amount awarded by Humanities Montana. Voluntary cost share includes:
• Cash contributions made to the project by you or a third party used to pay for
allowable project-related expenses incurred during the project’s period of
performance.
• Your unrecovered indirect costs up to 10% of overall award for organizations that
do not have a federal negotiated rate and do not budget for all or a portion of
the 10% allowed.
• In-kind contributions (non-cash contributions, such as property or services, that
benefit the project and are contributed without charge) by you or a third party.
Application Requirements & Instructions
Application Questions are available for review as a downloadable PDF on the website
and in our grant management portal. Use the descriptions for each component below
to inform your responses for questions in the online application.
All applications must be submitted via our online grant management portal by midnight
the day of the application deadline.
Humanities Montana has aligned each section with a primary corresponding review
criterion, but note that the criteria can be relevant in more than one section and that,
taken together, the parts of the narrative should form a coherent whole.
PART 1 – Request Overview
Project Name: Provide the title of your project. It should be brief (no more than 125
characters, including spaces). Successful applications typically have titles that are
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descriptive of the project and easily understood by the general public. Avoid using a
title that requires clarification by the subtitle.
Brief Project Description: It should be written for a non-specialist audience and clearly
state nature or format of your project, the importance of the proposed work, and its
relation to larger issues in the humanities. This description will appear on your
application during the review process. Do not exceed 500 characters, including
spaces.
Amount Requested: Provide the total dollar amount (rounded to the nearest whole
dollar) you are requesting from Humanities Montana. This total should match the sum
total include in your proposed budget table.
Project Start Date: This is the date you anticipate starting project activities included in
your proposed workplan. Please reference your application submission date to
determine the first possible start date for project activities related to this grant.
• December 1 submissions – On or after March 1
April 1 submissions - On or after July 1
• August 1 submissions - On or after October 1
Project End Date: Provide an estimated date for the completion of your project
activities. We recommend that this date is set for at least 30 days after all key activities
have been completed and expenses paid.
PART 2 – Project Proposal
Significance Statement: Describe the significance of your proposed project, including
the primary humanities theme(s) involved and provide an overview, explaining the
basic ideas, problems, or questions examined through the project. Explain how the
project will complement, challenge, or expand relevant humanities issues and reach a
Montana audience. Describe any unique or new interpretations of humanities content
through incorporating multiple perspectives
Project Narrative: Compose a comprehensive description of your proposed project.
Your narrative should be succinct, well organized, and free of technical terms and
jargon so that peer reviewers or reviewers unfamiliar with the content or format can
understand the proposed project.
Include information about the following in your response:
• Introduce your organization and explain why you are proposing this project
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• Describe the primary goals and objectives of your project
• Explain how you will reach or engage a Montana audience
• Share innovative features of your project
• Describe any notable interdisciplinary collaborations and/or collaboration
between community organizations involved in the project
Audience representation: The public humanities are rooted in civic engagement and
engage diverse audiences in reflection and discussion of ideas, culture, history,
philosophy, literature, and art interpretation, among other topics relevant to Montana
and our communities. Because our grants are intended to increase access to public
humanities programming in Montana and increase collaboration among communities
and cultural organizations and projects, we ask that you consider the following:
• How will your intended audience engage with this project?
• Is there community involvement in the design and planning of your project?
• If your project serves or is led by, any of the groups described below, how are
representatives of this group involved in the project?
If your project involves content about, or participation of communities historically under-
represented in the humanities including, but not limited to: rural communities,
youth/children, communities of color, Indigenous communities, LGBTQ communities,
incarcerated people, people with disabilities, and people whose first (or only) language
is not English, we ask that you document involvement and commitment from your
partners through letters of support uploaded to this application.
Fees & Accessibility: The majority of projects we support are free and open to the
public making the content accessible for as many people as possible. In some cases,
projects may require minimal and reasonable fees to support the basic and necessary
costs of the program. For example, fees collected through ticket sales or publication
sales are allowable if 1) they are not cost-prohibitive or exclusive of lower-income
groups/individuals, and 2) all cash income generated from collection of these fees are
used to pay for expenses related to this specific project (funds cannot be allocated to
other program, projects, or general operating expenses for your organization).
Fundraising events are not allowed.
Please explain how you will create public access to your program (free admission,
support for those with different abilities, translation or language support, rebroadcast or
reposting of recorded programming, etc.). If an admission is required explain why it is
necessary and how the funds will be used.
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Humanities Scholarship: At least one humanities scholar or subject expert is required to
provide meaningful support of your project. These individuals must have a deep
understanding of the humanities theme(s) involved in your project and provide council,
inform content design, or help execute programming. Enlisting the support of
humanities scholars ensures that your project will share well-vetted humanities content
from multiple perspectives with a public audience.
Refer to our FAQs for additional information.
Project Work Plan and Timeline: Summarize your work plan, describing the part or stage
of the project that will be supported by Humanities Montana and the key activities or
steps that you will use during the period of performance to carry it out. Use a timeline
that includes each activity. Your work plan must be specific to key activities between
your proposed project start and end dates (i.e., period of performance). If you do not
anticipate finishing the entire project during the period of performance, discuss your
plan for doing so.
We understand that your work plan may change as your project develops, but it should
not depend heavily on factors beyond your control. If your success relies on additional
funding support, staff capacity, resources, partner collaboration, etc., explain what
additional work will be required to meet your project goals.
In this section describe how are you going to achieve your project goals and objectives
through planned activities and deliverables. Outline the following:
• Primary project goal(s)
• Major project outcomes (effects)
• Key project activities and corresponding timelines
• Outreach plan (marketing, outreach, promotion, co-branding, etc.)
• Program evaluation plans (data collection, dissemination of findings, follow-up
activities, etc.)
Sample format
Goals:
Example – We have three goals: (1) To produce a literary event that creates a
meaningful dialogue between authors and festival participants…(2)….(3)
Outcomes:
Example – (1) Festival participants will increase their knowledge of… (2) Students will
learn new skills…(3) Community members will engage in discussion about…
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Key Project Activities & Timeline:
Date of completion Description of Activity
Example –
August 2022 Planning committee meets to set a date for the 2024 festival & decide
the theme
Outreach Plan:
Example - Publicity and promotion for this festival will include….and we will promote the
support of Humanities Montana by…
Evaluation Plan:
Example – Following each festival, we reach out to registered participants to complete
an online survey…We track the success of our marketing plan through Facebook,
Instagram….We schedule focus groups with authors/presenters, participants, and
students to learn more about their experiences….We will use this data to….
PART 3 – Budget & Fiscal Management
Project budgets are examined closely by reviewers, and applications with incorrect,
incomplete, or inadequate justification for expenses will receive a deduction in
evaluation scoring.
Project Budget: Accuracy and relevancy are essential in this section. Although your
proposed budget is an estimate, it should be thorough and detailed and align with the
project work plan. The application should include a full breakdown of budgeted
expenses for your project. All expenses included in the budget must be allowable. You
will use the budget table in the online application to itemize your project expenses and
specify whether they are included in the funding request or paid for using in-kind or
other secured income.
Refer to budget guidelines below for details about allowable and unallowable costs.
Budget Justification: Provide a narrative explanation for each budget line item, which
“justifies” the cost in terms of the proposed work. The explanations should focus on how
each budget item is required to achieve the aims of the project and how the
estimated costs in the budget were calculated.
The budget justification should:
• Follow funding budget guidelines
• Explain why each of the requested items is necessary to accomplish the project
outcomes
• Be organized in the order of the detailed budget table
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• Make it clear that all budget requests are reasonable and consistent with
Humanities Montana and Federal Funding policies
• Include descriptions of other secured or planned funding sources, both in-kind
and cash
NICRA Agreements: If you choose to include indirect costs in your budget and your
organization has a current federally negotiated indirect cost rate (NICRA), upload your
NICRA document verifying the appropriate rate, the base, the name of the agency
with which you negotiated, and the date of that agreement.
Fiscal Manager (name and contact information): Humanities Montana requires a fiscal
manager who is not the project director/applicant. We recommend the fiscal manager
be a qualified accountant or bookkeeper. The fiscal manager submits a final financial
report at the conclusion of the project. If you are with a university, this is usually
someone in your Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
PART 4 – Project Management & Contact Information
Project Director: The project director oversees the entire project and is responsible for
submitting fund requests and the final report to Humanities Montana at the end of the
grant period. The project director serves as the primary contact for the award and will
be responsible for 1) attending the award orientation, 2) attending the award cohort
session, 3) signing the subaward partnership agreement, and 4) submitting the final
report.
Authorizing Official: The authorizing official has the authority to approve requests for
federal financial assistance, provide fiscal oversight for this project, and acknowledge
the terms and conditions of entering into a subaward partnership agreement with
Humanities Montana for the purpose of carrying out project activities. In most cases, this
is your organization’s Executive Director, Board Chair/President, or Executive
Administrator overseeing the project and CANNOT be the same person listed as the
Project Director. If you are both the Project Director and Executive Director, please list
your Board Chair/President as your authorizing official. The authorizing official will be
responsible for 1) reviewing your application prior to submission, 2) signing the CEO
Certification document (downloadable template),3) signing the subaward partnership
agreement, and 3) reviewing the final report prior to submission.
Project Leadership and Management: Provide detailed information about staff or
contracted employees contributing to the design, coordination, implementation of
project activities, and general oversight of the project’s progress. Include names, titles,
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qualifications, and a brief description of their key responsibilities related to this project.
Personnel listed here should align with any staff listed in the project budget.
PART 5 - Supplemental Information & Documentation
Letters of support - Community Partners (optional, but recommended) You may choose
to upload letters of support from community partners involved in your project. General
support letters are not required, but if you are working with or sharing cultural and
historical content about a historically underrepresented community (see Audience
Representation) you are required to provide a letter of support from a member of that
group engaged with your project. Upload all letters of support in a combined PDF file.
Letters of Commitment - Humanities Scholars / Subject Experts (required): You are
required to upload at least one letter of commitment from a humanities scholar or
subject expert referenced in your application. Upload all letters of support in a PDF
combined file.
Unique Entity ID (UEI) (required): The Unique Entity ID (UEI) is a 12-character
alphanumeric ID assigned to an entity by SAM.gov. Humanities Montana cannot
administer subawards to organizations without UEIs.
According to SAM.gov, “A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a number that identifies your
entity registration in SAM.gov. This identifier is assigned by SAM.gov … The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) requires the Unique Entity ID to be used across federal
systems, government-wide, for federal subaward purposes.” And because Humanities
Montana issues subawards using federal funds from the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH), we required organizations to provide UEIs to process award
payments. Here are a few tips:
• The Unique Entity ID is a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to an entity by
SAM.gov.
• Existing registered entities can find their Unique Entity ID by following the steps
here.
• New entities can get their Unique Entity ID at SAM.gov and, if required, complete
an entity registration.
• UEIs are free!
• UEIs replaced DUNS Numbers in April 2022. DUNS Numbers are now obsolete.
• Visit SAM.gov for more information.
Employer Identification Number (EIN) (required): Your organization’s EIN is also known as
a Federal Tax Identification Number and is used by the IRS to identify a nonprofit,
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government, or business entity. The EIN you provide in this space should match the EIN
listed on your organization's Form W9.
Form W9 (required): Upload a pdf copy of your organization's most recent (2024 or
later) Form W9. To learn more, visit the IRS website.
General Budget Guidelines
Humanities Montana grant funds may be used only for expenses incurred during the
grant period of performance. Grant funds are limited and competition is tight. Carefully
review the list of allowable and unallowable expenses below AND refer to the
allowable and unallowable activities listed in the Program Summary before drafting
your budget.
Humanities Montana and cost share funds may not be used to pay for capital
purchases, liquor, entertainment, or food for audiences.
Allowable Costs/Expenses
Direct costs include expenses directly accountable to your proposed project activities
and the fulfilment of your project outcomes.
Examples
• LIMITED Personnel expenses, salary expenses for staff responsible for conducting
key project activities, but no more than 10% of overall requested amount may
be allocated to an Executive Director’s salary.
• Project contractor/consultant/scholar expenses, panel participation, public
presentations, research, and expert services to improve quality of humanities
content, general honoraria, etc.
• Project-related travel/per diem, such as lodging and mileage for project staff,
contractors, consultants, and scholars. All original receipts should remain with
your organization for audit and tax purposes.
o Mileage reimbursement (round trip travel to/from location = # of miles x
reimbursement rate) — Humanities Montana allows mileage expenses for
personal car use pursuant to the standard business mileage
reimbursement rate determined by the IRS. This rate is subject to change.
Visit the IRS website for more information.
o Lodging (location, # of nights x nightly rate = total expense)
o Meals – Only allowable with prior written approval
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• Project activities that directly support project design, development,
implementation, and evaluation efforts.
Examples include:
o Promotion/publication expenses for printing costs (posters, programs,
etc.), advertising through news outlets (newspaper, television, radio),
and social media
o Rental (only) of facilities and equipment, such as meeting space,
audio/visual equipment, etc.
• Other expenses need to be approved by Humanities Montana prior to inclusion
in your proposed budget.
Indirect costs are costs that your institution incurs for common or joint objectives and
that you cannot readily identify with a specific project or activity.
Examples
• Other sponsored activities
• 10% de minimis and base (e.g., Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC), “salaries,”
“salaries & fringe”) and whether the activity and rate are on- or off-site
• If your budget includes more than one indirect cost rate or base, list them as
separate entries (for example, your project includes activities that occur both
on and off campus)
You are not required to claim indirect costs. However, if you charge indirect costs to
the project, you must not charge those same costs to the project as direct costs.
For organizations WITHOUT federally negotiated indirect cost rates – No more than 10%
of your overall request award amount may support such expenses as the depreciation
on buildings, equipment, and capital improvements; operations and maintenance
expenses; accounting and legal services; and salaries of executive officers. If you do
not have a current indirect rate agreement with your cognizant agency but intend to
negotiate one, provide additional detail in your budget justification. (See Appendix for
more information)
For institutions WITH federally negotiated indirect cost rates (NICRA) - Except as
provided in 2 CFR § 200.414(c)(1), Humanities Montana must use the negotiated
rate(s) in effect at the time it issues your award and will not adjust the rate(s)
throughout the life of your award.
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If applicable, you will need to include a copy of your NICRA agreement, the name of
your cognizant federal agency, and a point of contact with your application. (See
Appendix for more information)
Reference NEH’s General Guidance on Calculating Indirect Costs for more
information.
Unallowable Costs/Expenses
X Personnel – More than 10% of overall requested amount allocated to an Executive
Director’s salary.
X Travel – Travel expenses unrelated to the project.
X Project Activities – Food Costs associated with receptions, social gatherings and
events, lobbying, entertainment, and networking are not allowable. The purchase of
alcohol is not permitted.
X Project Activities – Capital expenditures, equipment, special purpose equipment,
general purpose equipment is unallowable, unless Humanities Montana has given prior
written approval.
See Page 4 for a full list of unallowable expenses.
Deadlines
Grant consultations and requests for application pre-reads must be completed at least
two weeks prior to the application deadline. Both are contingent upon staff capacity.
You may schedule a consultation with Humanities Montana using the link provided on
our website https://www.humanitiesmontana.org/research-fellowships/.
Community Project grant applications are accepted on April 1, August 1, and
December 1 annually.
Eligible applicants must submit applications online by midnight MST. Applicants unable
to complete the online application process must contact Humanities Montana prior to
5:00 p.m. MST on the application close date.
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Application Review & Selection
Review Process
Humanities Montana staff review all applications for eligibility, completeness, and
responsiveness. Board members and expert reviewers evaluate all applications that
pass this initial screening. Reviewers must comply with federal ethics rules governing
conflicts of interest.
Humanities Montana staff, board members, and expert reviewers evaluate applications
using a scoring rubric. Learn more about review criteria.
Selection Process
The Humanities Montana proposal review process awards grants on a competitive
basis. Funding is limited. After all evaluations are complete, a review committee meets
to discuss applications and make funding recommendations to the full Board of
Trustees. Award decisions are made at the first board meeting following the application
deadline.
Applications may be funded (in whole or in part) with or without conditions, returned for
revision and/or resubmission, or rejected. Humanities Montana's return of an application
for revision and resubmission does not assure approval of the revised application.
Common reasons for rejecting an application include Humanities Montana's limited
budget, insufficient detail, lack of substantial humanities content, inadequate
participation of qualified humanities personnel, insufficient or restricted audience,
advocacy or lack of balance in addressing issues, and insufficient budget detail or
justification.
Assessment of Risk and Other Pre-Award Activities
Following initial award selection, Humanities Montana staff conduct a risk assessment
for selected applications. Staff consider the applicant’s past performance, if
applicable; analyze the project budget; assess the applicant’s management systems;
confirm the applicant’s continued eligibility; and evaluate compliance with public
policy requirements.
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This assessment guards against the risk that federal financial assistance might be
wasted, used fraudulently, or abused. After completing its risk assessment, Humanities
Montana will determine whether making an award would be consistent with
organizational policies, whether it must impose any special terms and conditions, and
what funding level is appropriate. Humanities Montana may elect not to issue awards
to applicants with management or financial instability that affects their ability to
comply with the terms and conditions of the award.
Award Announcements
Community Project grant applicants are notified of award decisions in writing 3-4
months following each deadline. Following Humanities Montana’s public
announcement of funded projects, applicants may request results of their project
evaluations by contacting megan.sundy@humanitiesmontana.org.
Award Management
The Award Management Guide provides detailed instructions for grantees to manage
awards from start (date of award decision) to end (submission of final report). The guide
can be found at https://www.humanitiesmontana.org/community-project-grants/.
Humanities Montana Contact Information
All interested applicants must consult with Humanities Montana’s grants office via
phone, email, virtual meeting, or in person prior to submitting a grant application.
Humanities Montana Megan Hill Sundy
311 Brantly, Missoula, MT 59812 Grants & Evaluation Director
Main office: (406) 243-6022 (406) 243-6067
General email: megan.sundy@humanitiesmontana.org
info@humanitiesmontana.org
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